Pardew says Newcastle ready to take Europa League seriously in Bordeaux clash

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew says his team face Europa League Group D favourites Bordeaux on Thursday night and can now start to take the competition seriously.

Pardew has already used 24 players in the opening three games of their first European campaign in six years and although mindful he has to contend with Manchester United’s visit to Tyneside on Sunday, he has vowed to field a strong side to face Francis Gillot’s team.

But with first choice central defenders Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini ruled out, and doubtful for the weekend, Pardew is already limited in the changes he can make.

Newcastle opened Group D with a goalless draw in Maritimo while their French opponents, who beat Lyon 2-0 last weekend, thrashed Bruges 4-0 at home.

Although Bordeaux have lost their last four games on English soil, Pardew is aware of their threat, assisted no doubt by the information from chief scout Graham Carr who is a regular visitor to Ligue 1 games. Newcastle also have seven French-born players in their squad.

Pardew said: 'We have entered this competition to win it and this is a significant game to up the levels. The team has to be good enough to beat Bordeaux but I have Manchester United coming on Sunday and have to make sure the Premier League result is right too.

'It is difficult to produce a team to play at maximum in two games but we will not beat Bordeaux and Man if we are not at the maximum.

'No one analyses players performance physically, mentally and tactically more than us and we need to put a team out to play Bordeaux and, with all due respect to the teams we have played so far in this competition, our team needs to be stronger.

'It is pretty obvious they are favourites for the group after the fine result in Bruges and to win would be a big step towards qualifying. They are a very good side, had a terrific result on Sunday so are in good form but it is at home and we are strong at home, regardless of the opposition.

'This is the first real time in this
competition where our fans will be taking it seriously too and that will
be important for the atmosphere and to focus our minds.

'In
European competition your concentration level goes up a little and you
have to be prepared for this type of opposition.

Preparation: Yohan Cabaye during training

'We respect them, look
forward to playing against them but we expect to win.

'Our own knowledge of Bordeaux is quite extensive but we have asked one or two of the players their opinions. It is nice to ask and adds to the armoury of knowledge.'

'One of the players Pardew wants to start is France international Yohan Cabaye, who revealed in a French TV documentary this week that he had turned down interest from Tottenham in the summer.

'The former Lille midfielder sees similarities with Newcastle’s progression in the last year after he quit French and Champions League football last year to move to Tyneside.

Cabaye added: 'Last season we worked really hard to play in Europe. It is really important to play in this competition to give experience for every player, especially the young ones.

'At Lille we played for four years in the Europa League and it helped us to win the French title and cup.

'There are similarities with Lille. We
don’t change the group every season and it was important that players
stayed and we have the same mentality.'

Bordeaux head coach Gillot also
believes Newcastle are the group favourites. He said: 'I hope Yohan and
Hatem Ben Arfa don’t play because they are both very good players.
Newcastle essentially have two teams and it’s difficult to know what
team they will pick.

'I
think Newcastle are the best team in the group. They have a fantastic
stadium and generate a lot of passion here. I hope my players can stand
up to the challenge.'